Process of purifying water.



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Patented Oct. 23; I900. L. GATHMANN. PROCESS OF PURIFYING WATER.

(Application filed Sept. 16, 1889.)

(No Model.)

l I l l UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

L OUIS GATI-IMANN, OF WASHINGTON, DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, ASSIGNOR TOGEORGE WHITMAN MCMULLEN, OF PICTQN, CANADA.

PROCESS OF PURIFYING WATER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 660,214, dated October23, 1900. Application filed September 16,1899. Serial No. 730,723. (Nospecimens.)

To all whomit may concern:

Be it known that l, LOUIS GATHMANN, of Washington, in the District ofColu mbia,ha"e invented certain new and useful Improvements in Systemsof Purifying Water, oi

which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to a system of purifying water and coniprehends atreatment or succession of treatmentsv whereby all solid (0 impurities,whetherorganic or inorganic, are completely separated and removed fromthe liquid.

My invention is capable of being applied to the purification of water inlarge or small bodies and may be adapted to the simple operation ofpurifying a supply of water for individual or domestic use or to thelarger and more comprehensive operations of purifying water of acomplete water system for-supplyzo ing cities or towns.

My invention is furthermore applicable to the purification of water asitpasses through the mains employed in a system of water distributionand without interruption of the 2 5 supply or substantial diminution ofthe pressure, and the operations hereinafter described, or at least theprincipal ones, are carried out by the aid of the distributing pressure,thus rendering the system easily ap- 3o plied and very economical.

More particularly stated, my invention in its most comprehensive formincludes the following treatments: First, the mechanical separation ofthe solid impurities having a specific gravity varying from the specificgravity of the liquid under treatment, which operation is performed bygenerating within a body of water vortical motion, which may be impartedto the body by passing it under 0 pressure through a separating-chamberhaving curved. walls, the water being delivered.

tangentially into said chamber under static or other pressure and theimpurities being separated out and removed at one exit, while the 5purified water escapes at a separate exit, and,

second, in a subsequent treatment or treatments of the water for theremoval of any remaining impurities which may have escaped the firstpurification and which also preferably consists in imparting to the bodyof water a rotary motion, whereby centripetal force is developed and thesolid impurities varying in specific gravity from that of the liquid areseparated out and removed.

In carrying out my invention I preferably make use of the apparatusshown in the accompanying drawings and consisting of. aseparating-chamberhaving curved walls provided with a tangential inletfor the Water, axial outlets for the impurities, and a pe- 6o ripheraloutlet for the purified water. Such an apparatus may be connected intothe main, the inlet being connected to the pressure side and the outletto the delivery side of such main. For the purpose of convenience ofapplication and repair such purifier may be located within a branch orby-pass provided with controlling-valves, so that the purifier may becut 0d from the main or connected therewith at pleasure.

The second operation is preferably performed with an apparatus such asabove described for use in carrying out the first treat ment, butdifferently arranged, so as to produce a modified action, as hereinaftermore 7 particularly described.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a plan viewof a complete apparatus forsubjecting the water to the two treatments above described. Fig.

2 is a side elevation of the same. Fig. 3 is a transverse sectionalelevation of the chamber in which the primary separation is effected,and Fig. 4a transverse sectional elevation of the chamber in which thesecondary separation is performed.

I will first describe the apparatus and then its method of operation lheprimary treatment is carried out in a chamber preferably consisting oftwo similar vessels 15 16, each of which may be cast 0 integral or insections. Each of said vessels has a cylindrical body portion 17, with afrusto-conical side 18, terminating at its apex in a discharge-orifice19. In the cylindrical wall of the primary separating vessel is atangen- 5 tial inlet, (indicated at 20,) which, as shown in Figs. 1 and2, is connected to the lowermost vessel 16, the vessel being placed insuch position that its akin is vertical. The vessel 15 has aperipheraldischarge 21. To the axial 10o discharge-outlet 19 of thevessel 15 is connected a valve-controlled discharge-pipe 22,

the valve being marked 23, and to the lower discharge-outlet 19 isconnected a similar dis-.

' ary chamber ,is' constructed identically like the primary separatingchamber or vessel, but is differently arranged that is to say, thepositions-of 'the vessels 15 and '16 are reversed, and to indicatesuch'reversal I have indicated them ,by the same reference-numeral, buthave marked the'inlet and outlet with new reference-numerals. Thetangential inlet in the caseof the secondary apparatus is marked 37 andis connected to the cylindrical body-wall of the upper vessel 16,

as shown at the left of the view Fig. 2, while the outlet-pip e (marked38) is. connected to the cylindrical" bod y-wall of the lower section ofthe vessel (marked 15) and is provided with a controlling-valve 39.Axial outlets for the separated impurities areapplied in the samepositions and having the same connections as in the primary separator.

The purpose'of constructing the separators as above described is tofacilitate their reversal and avoid cost. It will be seen by referencetoFigs. 3 and 4'that the vessels 15 16 are identical in construction, butare merely reversed as to position.

. I will first describe the operation of the complete apparatus as shownin Figs. 1 and 2.

Assuming that the inlet 20, which is provided with a valve 40, isconnected to a watermain 01' to a branch or by-pass thereof and thatwater is being forced through said main either by pumps or by static.pressure, the water on entering through the tangential inlet-pipe 20will be delivered against the cylindrical portion of the vessel 16 andwill form into a rotary current whose speed will beproportional to thepressure and the rate of consumption. Water being a dense andpractically-inelastic body with a specific gravity higher than theimpurities carried thereby when delivered under pressure into a chamberof theform described will form a dense and practically-impenetrablemoving mass against the peripheral wall of such chamber. The suspendedimpurities,whether organic or inorganic and such as pebbles, sand, silt,or other clayey or earthy material or vegetable oranimal remains, willtend toward the zone of least resistance. The heavier im puritiessuch assand, pebbles, or other earthy or minis preferably removed or allowed toescape drawn at a lower level.

outlet.

4 through the separators.

at a peripheral outlet, such as 21, arranged at a distant point in thewall of the separator from the inlet and at a higher level. shown at theright of the views Figs. 1 and 2, the outlet is arranged at a pointapproximately diametrically opposite the inlet and in a plane parallelto but above the out-let.

By reason of this arrangement-the current of liquid will perform one ormore complete revolutions within the separator before reaching theoutlet and will issue therefrom purified of all the heavier impuritiesand in such condition would be com monly considered potable.

' It may be, however, that some of the impuris ties, and particularlythe lighter'ones, carried by the water will not be separated by theprimary treatment. To remove all such impurities, I preferably treat thecurrent of water'to a final separation in a second sepaed to the firstseparator. The current enters the second chamber tangentially andpreferably in the upper portion thereof, being withreaching this chamberwill probably be of a light fiocculent nature, they will readily passout through the upper exit in close proximity to the point of inlet. Anyheavy particles having a normal specific gravity greater than water willseek the lower portion of the separator and find exit through the bottomThe now thoroughly-purified water will issue from the lower sideconnection 38 and may be delivered into the distributionmain. if thesystem be applied to a large plant, or if to a smaller plant may bedrawn 0d directly for consumption.

' I will now call attention to and emphasize some of the features of myinvention which have only been referred to incidentally.

Iuthe first place I. may remark that my system is intended to operate inconjunction with a flowing current of water the movement of which may beproduced by pressure or by suction. When operating by pressure, thelatter may be produced by pumps, or it may be static pressure. When the.static pressure is low, it may be supplemented by pumps to either forceor suck the water I may further remark that the pressures necessary toproduce a proper distribution of the water will be adequate to theoperation of my system, which will not materially lower such pressure.The only diminution of pressure will be due to the lengthening of thepath of the current of I water and to the small loss occasioned by tovolume upon the quantity of impurities to be carried away. Instead ofthe open discharge for the impurities sediment or setrater, which, asbefore described, is connect- As the impurities I tling chambers may beused, connected to the discharge-outlets, and the sediment removedperiodically without wasting Water or diminishing its pressure.

My system, it will be observed, is a closed pressure system and is to bedistinguished from those methods, such as filtration, in

which gravity alone is operative. In my system the elemental action ofcentripetal force is the essential and leading characteristic,and thisforce is or may be developed by the distributing pressure alone andwithout the use of apparatus having movable parts and also with thesimplest form of apparatus, eschewing deflectors, shelves, agitators, orother tri petal separator-and a secondary centripetalseparator; butobviously the primary separator might be used alone. Obviously, also,where the water is impregnated with a large percentage of suspendedimpurities or contains a large percentage of animal organisms theoperations of centrifugal separation may be repeated as frequently asnecessary to effect purification. The form, materials of construction,and arrangement and combinations of parts are therefore capable ofalmost indefinite variations to adapt them to the multitude ofsituations in which the inven- 40 tion may be applied. The apparatus iscapable of great variation as to size and material and operates upon thesame principal whether applied to a service-pipe at the end of a systemof water distribution or to the main at the inlet end of such system.

I make no claim in this present application to the apparatus herein setforth per 86, as the same forms the subject-matter of a separateapplication filed by me January 8, 1900, Serial No 771. Q

I claim- 1. The herein described treatment of water forremovingimpurities the1'efrom,wl1ich consists in passing a body of waterthrough a closed chamber whereby a vortical action is developed therein,and the impurities sepa rated therefrom and drawing off the separatedimpurities at each end of the axis of the vortex while the purifiedwater escapes from the periphery thereof, substantially as described.

2. The herein-described treatment of water for the separation ofimpurities therefrom which consists in delivering the same tangentiallyunder pressure into a vessel provided with circular side walls whereby avertical action is developed in the body of water and the impurities areseparated therefrom and drawing olf the separated impurities at the endsof the axis of the vortex and the purified water from the periphery,substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I atlix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

LOUIS GATIIMANN. Witnesses:

EMIL GATHMANN, N. CURTIS LAMMOND.

